Stanley F. Bronstein – Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

The idea for this posting was suggested to me by my loyal Twitter followers. If you like it, please Stumble it and tell others. Thanks – Mr Achievement

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The number of those who undergo the fatigue of judging for themselves is very small indeed. (Richard Brinsley Sheridan)

Some Definitions

Social – Pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations. Seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly. Living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation.

Media – The means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely.

Fatigue – Weariness from bodily or mental exertion. A cause of weariness; slow ordeal; exertion. To weary with bodily or mental exertion; exhaust the strength of.

Is Social Media Fatigue A New Phenomenon?

My initial inclination is to say no. For thousands of years, people have been social. For thousands of years people have communicated with each other through one method or another. For thousands of years, people have grown weary from time to time from having to communicate socially too much.

So, in my opinion, “social media fatigue” is NOT a new phenomenon. What IS new however, is the speed by which we can communicate through today’s assorted Web 2.0 applications.

Speed And Frequency Are The Issues Here

Speed – Rapidity in moving, going, traveling, proceeding, or performing; swiftness. Relative rapidity in moving, going, etc.; rate of motion or progress.

Frequency – Rate of occurrence. The state or fact of being frequent; frequent occurrence. Happening or occurring at short intervals. Constant, habitual, or regular.

Because it has grown so easy for us to communicate, on a worldwide basis, we are constantly being bombarded by more and more messages from more and more sources. Furthermore, they are coming at us at a faster pace than at any time in the history of mankind.

What Choices Do We Have?

Other than totally withdrawing from all the social media outlets that are prevalent in today’s world, we only really have a few choices.

Slow down the speed at which the messages come at us;

Reduce the number and frequency of the messages; or

Develop more efficient means for processing these messages.

Slowing Down The Speed At Which The Messages Come At Us

The easiest way to do that is to either withdraw from some social media sources, OR to examine the data from them only once or twice a day.  Many businesspeople I know purposely will check their emails only twice per day, during preset times.  Otherwise, they are constantly being interrupted throughout the day.

As every good businessperson learns somewhere along the way, just because the phone is ringing, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to drop what you’re doing and take the call RIGHT THEN.

Reducing The Number And Frequency Of The Messages

Once again, the easiest way to do that is to either withdraw from some social media sources.  Additionally, you can set up filters that help reroute less important messages so that they don’t interfere with your more important activities.

Develop More Efficient Means For Processing These Messages

The easiest way to do that is to become more organized.  For example, by organizing your emails (i.e. separate folders for each matter or person and using filters), you can then examine all your email messages in the order of priority YOU set, not simply in the order in which they come to you.

What Do I Think?

Personally, I believe the best solution to the issues of social media fatigue is to withdraw from it, FROM TIME TO TIME.  You don’t need to withdraw permanently, but walk away from it if you are tired.  For example, if you blog every day and all of a sudden one day you’re tired, TAKE THE DAY OFF, OR MAYBE EVEN TWO.  The world won’t come to and end and you will be much more refreshed once you return to your blogging.

All too often, I see people who grow tired of an activity simply walk away from it permanently.  Sometimes that might be a wise thing to do as the activity might simply have  been a waste of time.  HOWEVER, I believe it also breeds an attitude of quitting that can be dangerous.  Anyone who knows me knows that I’m persistent.  I’m like the energizer bunny who just keeps going and going and going.

Successful people succeed through persistence.

What Should I Do?

You should think for yourself and decide what is best for you.  That’s what this is all about thinking for yourself.

You know whether or not you are spending too much time on social media.  You know whether or not it is providing you value or is wasting your time.  Consequently, you are the one who is in the best position to determine what is best for you.

One Thought To Leave You With

Whatever you do, make sure that your time is being used wisely.  Spend your time doing valuable things that are going to improve your life, not just waste your time.  However, I’m not saying you have to be a machine, I’m just saying that if you spend 8 hours a day watching television, or 8 hours a day in chat rooms, you might not be using your time wisely.

For example, in the 5 minutes you’ve spent reading this post, I hope it has caused you to think and that you have found that 5 minutes to have been wisely used.

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